Media blog + Press regulation | The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/media/media-blog+press-regulation
Indexen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2017Tue, 26 Sep 2017 22:35:33 GMT2017-09-26T22:35:33Zen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2017The Guardianhttps://assets.guim.co.uk/images/guardian-logo-rss.c45beb1bafa34b347ac333af2e6fe23f.pnghttps://www.theguardian.com
Ipso chair’s speech to Society of Editors does not bode well for self-regulatorhttps://www.theguardian.com/media/media-blog/2014/nov/11/ipso-chair-speech-society-editor-self-regulator-insults-victims
Sir Alan Moses insults victims of press abuse when blaming the government for unrealistic promises it couldn’t deliver<p>Within days of his appointment last summer as chair of Ipso, the new press self-regulator, former judge Sir Alan Moses, was promising that he would reform it dramatically.</p><p>In September he acknowledged the shortcomings of the Ipso in terms of<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b044h9px" title=""> Leveson compliance </a></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/media-blog/2014/nov/11/ipso-chair-speech-society-editor-self-regulator-insults-victims">Continue reading...</a>IpsoNewspapers & magazinesPress regulationMediaHacked Off campaignNational newspapersNewspapersPress intrusionTue, 11 Nov 2014 08:15:08 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/media-blog/2014/nov/11/ipso-chair-speech-society-editor-self-regulator-insults-victimsPhotograph: Daniel Leal-Olivas/PAIn a fringe meeting at the Tory party conference, Ipso chairman Sir Alan Moses agreed that its investigations rules were unfit for an effective regulator. Photograph: Daniel Leal-Olivas/PAPhotograph: Daniel Leal-Olivas/PAIn a fringe meeting at the Tory party conference, Ipso chairman Sir Alan Moses agreed that its investigations rules were unfit for an effective regulator. Photograph: Daniel Leal-Olivas/PABrian Cathcart2014-11-11T08:15:08ZComplaining to Ipso can lead you into a tangled web | Media Monkeyhttps://www.theguardian.com/media/media-blog/2014/sep/12/complaining-ipso-web-press-regulator
The press regulator is no longer the first port of call for airing grievances and how easy that is to do depends on the title<p>The <a href="https://www.ipso.co.uk/IPSO/" title="">Independent Press Standards Organisation</a> took over from the <a href="http://www.pcc.org.uk" title="">Press Complaints Commission</a> this week and the succession was marked on newspaper websites – well, some of them anyway.</p><p>Gone are the days when the PCC was the first port of call for a complainant. Now, under Ipso rules, the complaint is supposed to be handled by a beefed-up internal process at the publisher concerned and it is only if that process fails to resolve matters within 28 days that the new press regulator steps in.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/media-blog/2014/sep/12/complaining-ipso-web-press-regulator">Continue reading...</a>IpsoNewspapers & magazinesPress regulationMediaDigital mediaDaily MirrorNational newspapersNewspapersDaily ExpressDaily TelegraphDaily MailThe GuardianFinancial TimesDaily StarThe IndependentThe SunThe TimesFri, 12 Sep 2014 14:04:53 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/media-blog/2014/sep/12/complaining-ipso-web-press-regulatorPhotograph: Daniel Leal-Olivas/PASir Alan Moses is head of the new press regulator Ipso – complainants must now go through the newspaper to air a grievance. Photograph: Daniel Leal-Olivas/PAPhotograph: Daniel Leal-Olivas/PASir Alan Moses is head of the new press regulator Ipso – complainants must now go through the newspaper to air a grievance. Photograph: Daniel Leal-Olivas/PADavid Banks2014-09-12T14:04:53ZPress regulation: The jury is out as Ipso becomes factohttps://www.theguardian.com/media/media-blog/2014/sep/07/press-regulation-ipso-alan-moses
Sir Alan Moses must try to prove he runs an independent process to win over refuseniks to the new body<p>Monday is a significant moment in press history. A new regulator, the Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso), opens its doors to offer recompense to people who believe they have been unfairly treated by newspapers and magazines. The fact that those doors are currently in the same building as the regulator it replaces, the Press Complaints Commission (PCC), is an embarrassment. Critics of the new system will view it as evidence that <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/jan/08/ipso-press-regulator-pcc-bells-whistles" title="">Ipso is no more than a retread of its discredited predecessor</a>, no more than son of PCC or PCC2.</p><p>In fact, the shared building reflects a small problem about leases that will be resolved soon. What really matters is whether Ipso can justify its claim to be independent from the publishers who created it in defiance of parliament. To that end, its supporters’ faith is heavily invested in its inaugural chairman, the former appeal court judge <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2014/may/16/sir-alan-moses-ipso-profile" title="">Sir Alan Moses</a>. He told the Guardian: “Our guiding principle is freedom from control. I will try to prove that we can act independently and run an independent process. We must demonstrate that we can do it.”</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/media-blog/2014/sep/07/press-regulation-ipso-alan-moses">Continue reading...</a>IpsoPress regulationMediaPress Complaints CommissionNational newspapersNewspapersNewspapers & magazinesMagazinesPress intrusionPrivacy & the mediaUK newsSun, 07 Sep 2014 17:02:06 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/media-blog/2014/sep/07/press-regulation-ipso-alan-mosesPhotograph: Murdo Macleod/GuardianIpso must prove it is separate from the publishers who created it. Photograph: Murdo Macleod for the GuardianPhotograph: Murdo Macleod/GuardianIpso must prove it is separate from the publishers who created it. Photograph: Murdo Macleod for the GuardianRoy Greenslade2014-09-07T17:02:06ZPress regulation: National titles could unite for more than an awards nighthttps://www.theguardian.com/media/media-blog/2014/apr/06/national-press-unite-regulation-rusbridger
If Ipso finds a strong chair and a method of independent auditing, then the Guardian, FT and Independent could sign up<p>The British Press awards – in the past the scene of much bad behaviour – have been a bit subdued recently. Not surprising perhaps when you consider the phone-hacking/Leveson inquiry context in which they've been held. But this year's awards last week seemed, to this observer at least, to mark a significant change in tone. More people, an altogether more optimistic feel and a spread of award winners – the Mail on Sunday for its "Crystal Methodist" scoop about the Coop bank chairman, the Sunday People for "Nigella's Boiling Point" and the spectacular Saatchi/Lawson relationship breakdown, and to cap it all <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/apr/02/guardian-observer-glory-press-awards" title="">newspaper of the year for the Guardian</a> – that suggest an industry getting its confidence back.</p><p>But in terms of where that industry is at, that last award is perhaps the most telling. The Guardian has not been popular with much of the rest of the press. Resented for its dogged pursuit of the phone-hacking story and blamed in some quarters for the Leveson inquiry which followed, not to mention plus what some see as the paper's "holier than thou" tone. The fact that the Press Complaints Commission chose to attack the Guardian for exaggerating (which it plainly hadn't) at the same time as giving the News of the World a clean bill of health (which it plainly didn't deserve) was indicative of a more widespread attitude. So the Guardian's success last week, with the unanimous backing of the judges – who included people from all sides of the industry, pop and broadsheet, as well as academia, broadcasting and even one former home secretary – is surely telling us something; as is the fact that it won the award for the Edward Snowden/<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/nsa" title="">NSA story</a> which some other papers saw as little short of treason.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/media-blog/2014/apr/06/national-press-unite-regulation-rusbridger">Continue reading...</a>Press regulationNewspapers & magazinesIpsoMediaThe GuardianNational newspapersNewspapersAlan RusbridgerLeveson inquiryUK newsLeveson reportThe IndependentFinancial TimesSun, 06 Apr 2014 17:15:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/media-blog/2014/apr/06/national-press-unite-regulation-rusbridgerPhotograph: Nick Carter/GuardianAlan Rusbridger collecting the Guardian's award for Newspaper of the Year.
Photograph: Nick Carter for the GuardianPhotograph: Nick Carter/GuardianAlan Rusbridger collecting the Guardian's award for Newspaper of the Year.
Photograph: Nick Carter for the GuardianSteve Hewlett2014-04-06T17:15:00ZWhy the Impress Project wants to talk about press regulationhttps://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/dec/08/impress-project-press-regulation-ipso
The newspaper owners behind Ipso are ignoring the public, so we need to think about building a robust, independent regulator<p>When I was seven years old I launched my own newspaper. For several days I laid bare hypocrisy and corruption in our small Yorkshire village. Publication lapsed when the new edition of the Beano arrived. Years later, I got my first job with a real newspaper. I loved it – the energy, the camaraderie, the jargon. I was delighted to find that production editors still talk about going "off stone" when they go to print, just as the first publishers did in the 15th century.</p><p>The old talk of stones and presses is dying as new technology transforms the media landscape. Yet the core function of journalism remains, whether it comes in a weekly bundle or a live feed: to entertain and inform, build our communities and speak truth to power.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/dec/08/impress-project-press-regulation-ipso">Continue reading...</a>Press regulationImpressPress Complaints CommissionNational newspapersNewspapersNewspapers & magazinesMediaUK newsIpsoMon, 09 Dec 2013 07:33:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/dec/08/impress-project-press-regulation-ipsoPhotograph: Andy Rain/EPAPress regulation: most national newspaper groups have signed up to new regulator Ipso. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPAPhotograph: Andy Rain/EPAPress regulation: most national newspaper groups have signed up to new regulator Ipso. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPAJonathan Heawood2013-12-09T07:33:00ZAlastair Campbell: I hate what Dacre and Murdoch have done to journalismhttps://www.theguardian.com/media/media-blog/2013/nov/13/alastair-campbell-journalism-lectures
<a href="http://www.crassh.cam.ac.uk/events/25150" title="">Why journalism, and why it matters in a world of flux?</a> is the first of two lectures by Tony Blair's former director of communications as Cambridge University Humanitas visiting professor of media<br /><br /><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/media-blog/2013/nov/14/alastair-campbell-journalism-lecture">Campbell: How journalism can rebuild its reputation</a><br /><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/nov/12/alastair-campbell-press-barons-power">Campbell: press barons losing power like 80s union leaders</a><p>One of the most powerful critiques of modern journalism came from the Guardian's Nick Davies. In his book Flat Earth News, he detailed specific acts of press distortion, manipulation and lying. But more, he made a convincing analysis that the corporatisation of the media is what has led to its decline in trust and accuracy. He calls it a cancer and argues it is beyond cure. I hope he is wrong, but three things are clear:</p><p>First, those who have created the cancer cannot cure it. The Murdoch-Dacre generation of owners and executives, let alone the so-called regulators at the PCC, have failed, cannot change their ways, have had their day.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/media-blog/2013/nov/13/alastair-campbell-journalism-lectures">Continue reading...</a>MediaNewspapers & magazinesJournalism educationPress freedomNewspapersPress intrusionPrivacy & the mediaDigital mediaLeveson reportLeveson inquiryPress regulationWed, 13 Nov 2013 17:00:41 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/media-blog/2013/nov/13/alastair-campbell-journalism-lecturesPhotograph: Graeme Robertson/GuardianAlastair Campbell says there are reasons to be optimistic about the future of journalism. Photograph: Graeme Robertson for the GuardianPhotograph: Graeme Robertson/GuardianAlastair Campbell says there are reasons to be optimistic about the future of journalism. Photograph: Graeme Robertson for the GuardianAlastair Campbell2013-11-13T17:00:41ZCould the royal charter force the press into political haggling?https://www.theguardian.com/media/media-blog/2013/nov/10/press-regulation-royal-charter
If the new self-regulator signed up to the recognition body, the consequences could be far from what any of the parties intended<p>The debate about press regulation post-Leveson has raged for most of a year. Now finally, with the "sealing" of the cross–party charter the other week, something of a milestone has been passed. The arguments of course are far from over. Most of the industry (which gathers on Monday at the Society of Editors conference) is committed to setting up its own new self-regulator, Ipso, and equally committed to not seeking recognition from the backstop body set up by the charter. That will leave them exposed to hefty financial penalties in libel actions even when they win, and ultimately to exemplary damages in libel and privacy cases they lose.</p><p>The press hopes the whole question might ultimately get lost in the political long grass, while the campaigners and politicians hope the financial risks of being outside the system will persuade or ultimately even force most newspapers to sign up.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/media-blog/2013/nov/10/press-regulation-royal-charter">Continue reading...</a>Press regulationNational newspapersNewspapersNewspapers & magazinesMediaPoliticsUK newsSun, 10 Nov 2013 18:29:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/media-blog/2013/nov/10/press-regulation-royal-charterPhotograph: Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/AllstarPress regulation: Maria Miller's royal charter could result in unexpected consequences. Photograph: Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/AllstarPhotograph: Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/AllstarPress regulation: Maria Miller's royal charter could result in unexpected consequences. Photograph: Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/AllstarSteve Hewlett2013-11-10T18:29:00ZPress regulation: royal charter and legal framework are not how to curb excesshttps://www.theguardian.com/media/media-blog/2013/oct/27/press-regulation-royal-charter-legislation
Publishers coerced into becoming members of a recognised regulatory body with the threat of court-imposed sanctions<p>As the debate surrounding press regulation focuses once more on the details of a royal charter, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/oct/24/press-regulation-publishers-seek-judicial-review" title="">with the industry seeking a judicial review</a>, broader concerns about the post-Leveson regulatory framework, and its impact on freedom of expression, persist.</p><p>A structure that implemented Lord Justice Leveson's recommendations for a recognition panel and formally accredited a regulator would work well if membership of such a regulator was truly voluntary. But publishers are being coerced into becoming members of a recognised regulatory body with the threat of court-imposed sanctions, following the introduction of the Crime and Courts Act 2013.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/media-blog/2013/oct/27/press-regulation-royal-charter-legislation">Continue reading...</a>Press regulationMedia lawNewspapers & magazinesNewspapersMediaLawNational newspapersLeveson reportLeveson inquiryUK newsSun, 27 Oct 2013 18:52:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/media-blog/2013/oct/27/press-regulation-royal-charter-legislationPhotograph: Andy Rain/EPANewspaper publishers are being coerced into joining a recognised regulatory body. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPAPhotograph: Andy Rain/EPANewspaper publishers are being coerced into joining a recognised regulatory body. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPAHelen Anthony2013-10-27T18:52:00ZPress regulation: public opinion is divided on supervision – or is it?https://www.theguardian.com/media/media-blog/2013/oct/20/press-regulation-public-opinion-ipso
As draft contracts are sent out to would-be Ipso members, the key question is where national and local papers stand<p>Two polls were published last week on public attitudes to press regulation – both by YouGov. The one for the Media Standards Trust (MST) produced the conclusion, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/oct/14/poll-royal-charter-press-regulation" title="">according to this newspaper's headline at least</a>, that the government's cross-party royal charter plan had "strong" public support.</p><p>Yet the other one, for the Sun, said that only 25% of those polled supported the cross-party charter. The MST poll also found that 79% of us thought there was a serious risk – if the press went ahead and set up a new self-regulator but it remained "unrecognised" by the new charter recognition body – of a return to unethical and illegal practices; while the Sun poll found that 76% thought there was a risk that any legal system of press regulation set up by parliament would be used by future governments to stop the press from criticising them. In fairness the Sun's own poll also said that 65% of people didn't trust newspapers and journalists to set up a "fair system" of press regulation. So more or less totally contradictory then?</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/media-blog/2013/oct/20/press-regulation-public-opinion-ipso">Continue reading...</a>Press regulationNewspapers & magazinesMediaNewspapersNational newspapersRegional & local newspapersPrivacy & the mediaPress intrusionUK newsThe SunIpsoSun, 20 Oct 2013 17:55:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/media-blog/2013/oct/20/press-regulation-public-opinion-ipsoPhotograph: Andy Rain/EPADecision time … National and local newspapers have to decide where they stand on press regulation. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPAPhotograph: Andy Rain/EPADecision time … National and local newspapers have to decide where they stand on press regulation. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPASteve Hewlett2013-10-20T17:55:00ZIpso: fair and open press regulation, or still dogged by Richard Desmond?https://www.theguardian.com/media/media-blog/2013/jul/14/ipso-press-regulation-richard-desmond
The Independent Press Standards Organisation could be established within months. Here two leading experts give their opposing views<p><strong>FOR: Paul Vickers</strong></p><p>In his report, Sir Brian Leveson called for "a body, established and organised by the industry, which would provide genuinely independent regulation of its members". We have accepted that challenge.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/media-blog/2013/jul/14/ipso-press-regulation-richard-desmond">Continue reading...</a>Press regulationNewspapers & magazinesMediaUK newsHacked Off campaignNational newspapersNewspapersPress intrusionIpsoSun, 14 Jul 2013 17:20:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/media-blog/2013/jul/14/ipso-press-regulation-richard-desmondPhotograph: Graeme Robertson/GuardianLord Justice Leveson, who chaired the inquiry into the culture, practice and ethics of the press, with his report. Photograph: Graeme Robertson for the GuardianPhotograph: Graeme Robertson/GuardianLord Justice Leveson, who chaired the inquiry into the culture, practice and ethics of the press, with his report. Photograph: Graeme Robertson for the GuardianPaul Vickers and William Irwin2013-07-14T17:20:00ZDavid Cameron should reject both press charters and opt for an ombudsmanhttps://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/apr/29/david-cameron-press-charters-ombudsman
Politicians and newspapers are wrong to accept Leveson as holy writ – and both their proposed systems threaten free speech<p>What is the reading public to make of the Mexican stand-off between politicians and the press? Each has produced a royal charter to regulate the behaviour of journalists, which threaten up to £1m in fines and even more in "exemplary damages" with forced front-page apologies for breaches of taste or privacy. Both claim to implement the recommendations of Lord Justice Leveson – one by law, the other by industry agreement. But both threaten free speech and neither will encourage the adventurous investigative journalism needed to expose the corruption and hypocrisy of the powerful.</p><p>What is remarkable about the current conflict is the way the Leveson report is being treated by both sides as holy writ – Ed Milliband promised to implement it before he had even read its 1,900 pages. Moreover, Leveson is a judge, a fine one certainly, but in Britain judges have a poor record in protecting free speech. Remember how the law lords banned Spycatcher after it was published everywhere else in the world? And how they imposed so many sexist superinjunctions, gagging women who wanted to tell the truth about heartless lovers? Or how they insisted on protecting the likes of Barclays bank and the manufacturers of the foetus-deforming drug thalidomide against exposure by investigative journalists? They once even condemned as a criminal a public-spirited solicitor who showed court documents about mistreatment of prisoners to a journalist – the solicitor in question being the young Harriet Harman. It took the European court to reverse the judicial assaults on free speech in the Harman and thalidomide cases and it is likely to be called on again if either of these charters receives royal assent.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/apr/29/david-cameron-press-charters-ombudsman">Continue reading...</a>Press regulationLeveson inquiryLeveson reportNational newspapersNewspapersNewspapers & magazinesMediaLord Justice LevesonLawPoliticsUK newsMon, 29 Apr 2013 11:39:48 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/apr/29/david-cameron-press-charters-ombudsmanPhotograph: Graeme Robertson/GuardianLord Justice Leveson: recommendations threaten free speech and investigative journalism. Photograph: Graeme Robertson for the GuardianPhotograph: Graeme Robertson/GuardianLord Justice Leveson: recommendations threaten free speech and investigative journalism. Photograph: Graeme Robertson for the GuardianGeoffrey Robertson2013-04-29T11:39:48ZPress regulation: a victory for the rich, the celebrated and the powerful | Simon Jenkinshttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/mar/19/press-regulation-victory-rich-celebrated-powerful
This new press regulator is all about revenge, not justice. It's hard to imagine a more chilling deterrent to serious investigation<p>We can agree that the press had it coming. The victims needed revenge. Celebrities wanted redress. A few tabloid moguls got a bloody nose, and Ed Miliband got to meet Hugh Grant. <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/mar/18/press-regulation-newspapers-furious-deal" title="">But what happened on Monday in Westminster</a> was a ludicrous way to engineer a more disciplined press. We do not have an independent regulator, but the agency of a political stitch-up. Any MP who claims this is not statutory regulation is a liar, and should be forced to retract and apologise, or face a million pound fine.</p><p>Press laws should not be written in the dead of night by a coalition of those worsted by newspapers. They have produced not just a royal charter, which might be no big deal, but a detailed remit of how a press regulator should operate, down to the prominence of apologies and the size of fines. MPs on Monday were salivating with regulatory power. The truth is that parliament was drinking deep from the well of disgust and revenge. As the veteran MP Peter Lilley bravely remarked, whenever parliament gloats over such deals "we invariably make our worst blunders".</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/mar/19/press-regulation-victory-rich-celebrated-powerful">Continue reading...</a>Leveson inquiryUK newsMediaLeveson reportPress regulationNewspapersPress freedomLawNewspapers & magazinesTue, 19 Mar 2013 20:30:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/mar/19/press-regulation-victory-rich-celebrated-powerfulPhotograph: GuardianIllustration by Matt KenyonPhotograph: GuardianIllustration by Matt KenyonSimon Jenkins2013-03-19T20:30:00ZLeveson asked: who guards the guardians? It seems to be Oliver Letwinhttps://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/jan/27/leveson-who-guards-guardians-oliver-letwin
The appearance of independence in the new press regulatory body will be impressive. But look who's appointing the grandees that make the decisions<p>The peril of political ructions over the aftermath of Lord Justice Leveson's report begins to fade a little. Hacked Off wanted a "present or former civil service commissioner" and/or "a present high judicial officer" plonked on top of the appointments body who'll choose the successor regulatory board to the Press Complaints Commission – and lo! their demands would seem to be met in full.</p><p>The government has asked Sir David Normington, current commissioner for the civil service – and public appointments as well – to move in and approve the appointments system that emerges. He'll need privy council assent to extend his official brief. Expect this to follow in a few days. And meanwhile Lord Phillips, former president of our supreme court and thus just about the highest former judicial officer extant, has agreed to advise on the construction and running of that selfsame appointments apparatus.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/jan/27/leveson-who-guards-guardians-oliver-letwin">Continue reading...</a>Press regulationOliver LetwinLeveson inquiryNewspapers & magazinesRegulatorsUK newsPoliticsMediaSun, 27 Jan 2013 00:06:29 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/jan/27/leveson-who-guards-guardians-oliver-letwinPhotograph: Rex FeaturesOliver Letwin: after Leveson, he's the man who appoints the man who makes the appointments. Photograph: Rex FeaturesPhotograph: Rex FeaturesOliver Letwin: after Leveson, he's the man who appoints the man who makes the appointments. Photograph: Rex FeaturesPeter Preston2013-01-27T00:06:29ZShould press regulators also be arbiters of taste?https://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/jan/20/leveson-regulator-taste-test
The Leveson proposals as they stand could involve lengthy – even interminable – wrangles over taste, hurt and perception<p>The Irish newspapers took four years to produce the regulatory system Sir Brian Leveson loves best. Britain has only had three months. So the snorting about delay and incipient deceitfulness is off the mark.</p><p>Leveson didn't provide a detailed model for instant implementation. His "exemplary damages" wheeze might not survive in Strasbourg. His public interest defence on information-gathering is too restrictive. And keeping the law's Whiplash Willies away from "light-touch" arbitration is like handing Lance Armstrong a tube of Smarties.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/jan/20/leveson-regulator-taste-test">Continue reading...</a>Newspapers & magazinesPress regulationLeveson reportJulie BurchillMediaSun, 20 Jan 2013 00:06:27 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/jan/20/leveson-regulator-taste-testPhotograph: Graeme RobertsonLord Leveson's report would require his board to hear complaints from other groups affected by alleged breaches.
Photograph: Graeme RobertsonPhotograph: Graeme RobertsonLord Leveson's report would require his board to hear complaints from other groups affected by alleged breaches.
Photograph: Graeme RobertsonPeter Preston2013-01-20T00:06:27ZPress regulation: the post-Leveson deal to satisfy Nick Clegg?https://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/dec/17/leveson-clegg-press-regulation
Oliver Letwin's press regulator by royal charter may be the thing that will satisfy the Lib Dem leader and leave only Labour arguing for a press law<p>It's more than a fortnight since the Leveson inquiry report appeared, and we are nicely into the smoke and mirrors phase of the talks. What that means is that what was once certain is now drifting towards the opaque – both in Fleet Street and Westminster. So if you thought you knew what was happening, think again.</p><p>The loss of James Harding from the Times seems to have mortally wounded the editors' initiative, which began so well at the Delaunay. Now a faceless collection of trade bodies seems to be in the driving seat with manoeuvrer-in-chief Lord Black cemented in their ranks. Where the editors <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/dec/05/newspaper-editors-sign-up-leveson">signed up to 40 out of 47 Leveson recommendations</a>, with a handful of tweaks, the alphabet crew have signed up to the "five Leveson principles" as outlined by David Cameron.</p><p>I understand the entirely legitimate reasons why some members of this house are wary of using legislation. I have thought long and hard about this. I'm a liberal, I don't make laws for the sake of it – and certainly not when it comes to the press. Indeed, when I gave my own evidence to the iInquiry, I made the point that, if we could create a rigorous, independent system of regulation which covers all of the major players, without any changes to the law, of course we should.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/dec/17/leveson-clegg-press-regulation">Continue reading...</a>Press regulationLeveson inquiryMediaNick CleggPoliticsNewspapersNational newspapersPress freedomPress intrusionOliver LetwinUK newsMon, 17 Dec 2012 19:07:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/dec/17/leveson-clegg-press-regulationPhotograph: Public DomainThe adoration of the Magi: a pictorial summary of the Letwin plan, painted by Gentile da Fabriano at roughly the time royal charters first were usedPhotograph: Public DomainThe adoration of the Magi: a pictorial summary of the Letwin plan, painted by Gentile da Fabriano at roughly the time royal charters first were usedDan Sabbagh2012-12-17T19:07:00ZLeveson's legal eagles will repeat all the old mistakeshttps://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/dec/16/lord-justice-leveson-press-regulation-judges-lawyers
Putting lawyers in charge of the press regulator will lead to endless hearings and the stultified pace of the courtroom – just like the old, dismantled Press Council<p>Let's leave Lord Justice Leveson well to one side as the search for "independent" worthies to police his masterplan gets under way. We don't know how he came to be appointed head of his famous commission in the first place, or even (inns of court gossip) whether he was the lord chief justice's first choice. But we do know that Igor Judge said he chose Sir Brian because he "believed in the freedom of the press" (which, in all logic, argues that some other high court luminaries harbour no such beliefs).</p><p>But now see the great legal carpet of opportunity unrolling. Here's Labour's draft Leveson implementation bill, presented by Harriet Harman (a&nbsp;solicitor) and Charlie Falconer (a&nbsp;successful barrister). It features a team of verification experts who will inspect the new press regulatory body and validate its suggested light-touch tribunal body – which, according to<em> </em>Leveson, will also be staffed by retired judges and retired senior barristers. And where, while we're wading through <em>Who's Who</em>, can we find an independent chairman for the whole revised shooting match?</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/dec/16/lord-justice-leveson-press-regulation-judges-lawyers">Continue reading...</a>Press regulationPress Complaints CommissionLord Justice LevesonIgor JudgeNational newspapersNewspapersLawRegulatorsNewspapers & magazinesMediaSun, 16 Dec 2012 00:06:11 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/dec/16/lord-justice-leveson-press-regulation-judges-lawyersPhotograph: Tim Rooke /Rex FeaturesThe lord chief justice, Lord Judge, who appointed Lord Justice Leveson: a candidate for the press regulatory body? Photograph: Tim Rooke /Rex FeaturesPhotograph: Tim Rooke /Rex FeaturesThe lord chief justice, Lord Judge, who appointed Lord Justice Leveson: a candidate for the press regulatory body? Photograph: Tim Rooke /Rex FeaturesPeter Preston2012-12-16T00:06:11ZPress regulation: what made the Mail really madhttps://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/nov/18/press-regulation-daily-mail
The Mail's rant about Sir David Bell and the Media Standards Trust hinges on a truly sinister conspiracy theory<p>What can you say about the <em>Daily Mail</em>'s <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2012/nov/16/dailymail-leveson-inquiry" title="">monster rant</a> about the Media Standards Trust, its former chairman and current Leveson assessor, Sir David Bell, and the top-people training charity Common Purpose? There is one little thing to note amid the guff. It's that pristine, pure word "independent" – as in independent inquiry or regulation.</p><p>Even John Whittingdale, chair of the culture select committee, is starting to gag over it. Asked about his doubts on press regulation at the Society of Editors conference last week, he cited the Media Standards Trust plan for a supreme "backstop independent auditor" appointed by the chairs of the Arts Council, Ofcom, Channel 4 and the Press Association, plus the information commissioner and the NUJ president.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/nov/18/press-regulation-daily-mail">Continue reading...</a>Daily MailNational newspapersNewspapers & magazinesMurdoch MacLennanMediaLeveson inquiryPress regulationSun, 18 Nov 2012 00:04:15 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/nov/18/press-regulation-daily-mailPhotograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty ImagesMurdoch MacLennan, chairman of the Press Association.
Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty ImagesMurdoch MacLennan, chairman of the Press Association.
Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty ImagesPeter Preston2012-11-18T00:04:15ZAs Lord Justice Leveson ponders, the world of media is in chaoshttps://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/nov/11/leveson-inquiry-media-regulation-in-chaos
In an exploding digital age, arguments about press regulation are simply becoming silly<p>This is all getting quite silly. On the one hand, stumbling into yet another <em>Newsnight</em> crisis, BBC bosses aren't trusted by 76% of the British public (see one of those polls the BBC normally loves so much). On the other hand, an assortment of backbench Tory MPs and peers hymns the corporation's editorial freedom to investigate, in spite of statutory regulation by the Broadcasting Act. On the one hand, more MPs pile into the BBC for not showing its <em>Newsnight</em> exposure of Jimmy Savile. On the other, they try to kick it to death for messing up its Lord McAlpine investigation (and editorial freedom means only freedom to walk the plank).</p><p>In one part of the forest, the Savile frenzy rages on, far ahead of police inquiries testing the evidence for it. In an adjacent area of north Wales woodland, David Cameron orders a future inquiry into a decade-old inquiry about abuse in a children's home. Meanwhile, the PM denounces a social media "witch-hunt" that spews out names of Tory grandees who had nothing to do with kids in the home; Jersey is shown to hide loads of dodgy, tax-avoiding bank accounts; and Twitter proclaims new records with 327,452 tweets per minute – per minute! – following Obama's re-election.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/nov/11/leveson-inquiry-media-regulation-in-chaos">Continue reading...</a>Lord Justice LevesonPress freedomInternetTwitterDigital BritainHacked Off campaignTechnologyBBCPoliticsNewspapers & magazinesMediaPress regulationSun, 11 Nov 2012 00:02:03 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/nov/11/leveson-inquiry-media-regulation-in-chaosPhotograph: ReutersLord Justice Leveson speaking at the end of the witness phase of his inquiry: he was not asked to produce some kind of rational, flexible framework. Photograph: ReutersPhotograph: ReutersLord Justice Leveson speaking at the end of the witness phase of his inquiry: he was not asked to produce some kind of rational, flexible framework. Photograph: ReutersPeter Preston2012-11-11T00:02:03ZLeveson: the grass wouldn't be much greener with an Irish-style ombudsmanhttps://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/nov/04/leveson-grass-greener-irish-style-ombudsman
The widely praised press regulation model in Dublin isn't as light-touch as it seems – and doesn't even contain many of the reforms Lord Justice Leveson would like to see in Britain<p>The easy answer to Sir Brian Leveson's problem has always been floating temptingly out there, just over the Irish Sea. Dublin's press-council-plus-ombudsman system already has all the Fleet Street papers who sell copies in Ireland as more-or-less voluntary members, without fear or overmuch fury. It also features a novel kind of statutory underpinning because both council and ombudsman are mentioned in the 2009 Defamation Act, which theoretically means members qualify for lower libel damages because they're fair and responsible citizens.</p><p>What could be neater? A solution embraced and working that provides real incentives to join? Even Richard Desmond has signed up. No wonder the <em>Times</em> is predicting that the Leveson report, when it arrives, may boast a bright green cover and shamrock trimmings. It will be billed, apparently, as "light-touch regulation", a mild, modest blend of this and that no one need get too worked up about.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/nov/04/leveson-grass-greener-irish-style-ombudsman">Continue reading...</a>Leveson inquiryRegulatorsNewspapersPress freedomNewspapers & magazinesMediaBusinessIrelandPress regulationSun, 04 Nov 2012 00:06:12 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/nov/04/leveson-grass-greener-irish-style-ombudsmanPhotograph: Peter Muhly/AFP/Getty ImagesIs Ireland's press ombudsman a light-touch solution to the Leveson conundrum? The case of the Irish Daily Star and the Duchess of Cambridge suggests otherwise. Photograph: Peter Muhly/AFP/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Peter Muhly/AFP/Getty ImagesIs Ireland's press ombudsman a light-touch solution to the Leveson conundrum? The case of the Irish Daily Star and the Duchess of Cambridge suggests otherwise. Photograph: Peter Muhly/AFP/Getty ImagesPeter Preston2012-11-04T00:06:12ZLeveson could find a draconian solution to press regulation in Irelandhttps://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/oct/14/leveson-ireland-press-freedom
The recent furore over pictures of Kate Middleton highlighted the threat to newspaper freedom there<p>The argument, from Labour to Lib Dem to <a href="http://hackinginquiry.org/" title="">Hacked Off</a> HQ, is simple enough. Whatever Sir Brian Leveson says, when he reports, must be implemented in full – unless, unexpectedly, it's something we don't agree with. Bring on statutory underpinning posthaste. Why let newspapers bang on about thin ends of wedges? Just look at Ireland and see how an underpin or two helps everyone.</p><p>And, indeed, there's good reason now to look at Leveson's favourite model regulator: an ombudsman and press council to be proud of, potentially recognised for more benevolent treatment in the libel and allied courts. But what happened when the <em>Irish Daily Star</em> published those Kate topless photos last month? Alan Shatter, the justice minister, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/sep/17/irish-justice-minister-privacy-media" title="">took his draconian privacy bill off the shelf and began waving it at all Dublin's papers</a>. He was underpinned here and underpinned there. He had an obvious duty to contemplate retribution.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/oct/14/leveson-ireland-press-freedom">Continue reading...</a>Leveson inquiryPress freedomNewspapers & magazinesNewspapersMediaIrelandEuropeWorld newsPress regulationSat, 13 Oct 2012 23:01:12 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/oct/14/leveson-ireland-press-freedomPhotograph: Peter Muhly/AFP/Getty ImagesThe actions of the Irish Daily Star could end up posing a threat to other newspapers in the republic. Photograph: Peter Muhly/AFP/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Peter Muhly/AFP/Getty ImagesThe actions of the Irish Daily Star could end up posing a threat to other newspapers in the republic. Photograph: Peter Muhly/AFP/Getty ImagesPeter Preston2012-10-13T23:01:12Z